Progressive Peoples' Party (PPP)
The Progressive Peoples' Party (PPP) is a political party in the Valruzian Federation. Founded in 2602 the PPP is a new force that aims for a radical reform of the Valruzian Federation. History The PPP was founded in late 2602 by a series of disaffected academics upset with the direction of Valruzian politics. The academics felt that intellectual, pragmatic politics had been replaced by ideological squabblings between a triumphate of radical leftist parties (the Communist Party of Valruzia, the Valruzian Communist Party and the Philosophical Party) which placed the virtues of the state above all else, the Christian Federalist Party which had become ineffective at anything except ridiculous social conservatism, an increasingly radical libertarian force (the Left-Libertarian League) which ideologically pursued scaling back the state beyond all reason and a supposedly centre-left force (the Democratic Party for a New Society) which had lost its way, increasingly beholden to the more authoritarian instincts of both the far-left triumphate and the CFP. Soon after its arrival on the scene two parties of the triumphate (the VCP and the PP) and the CFP collapsed, which the PPP declared a victory for all Valruzians. A short-lived neo-fascist movement, the Front for Prosperity and Security was also resoundingly defeated nice and quickly. Soon after its creation the PPP elected Professor Chris Terry, one of the brightest minds in Social Sciences anywhere in Terra, and the leading mind in the field of Political Science, as their leader. The PPP aimed to carve out a new path, and bring Valruzia into the 26th century. Early successes for the PPP included a bill designed to deregulate the market and make Valruzia more competitive (the RARE Act), the implementation of public healthcare and the relegalisation of abortion. Ideology Subscribing a single ideology to the PPP is difficult at best, various factions exist which subscribe to various ideologies. All factions subscribe to the principles of liberal democracy, social progressivism, cooperation and consensus building and a mixed economy, but the degrees to which they do differ between factions. These factions are not clear cut however and most MPs follow a mixture of ideas. The Social Democrats The largest faction amongst the grassroots. Generally the most populist faction and left-wing faction this faction tends to favour the strong arm of the state more than the others, those on the extremes flirt with Socialism, and the faction as a whole supports cooperation with the DPNS, and some favour cooperation with the CPV. Others, however are highly anti-communist. Tends to be more cynical of rights, freedoms and decentralisation than any of the other factions though it is nonetheless in favour of all of them the Social Democrats occasionally violate them in the sake of perceived greater goods. The Social Liberals Much smaller amongst the grassroots, but larger amongst MPs and arguably more influential than the Social Democrats, a cause of great friction amongst the grassroots. Highly capitalistic, but also in favour of a strong welfare state the Social Liberals often favour a mixture of strong (arguably centre-right) free trade policies with strong support for benefits for the unemployed and universal healthcare. Utterly committed to rights and freedoms, the Social Liberals believe that no man is free until he is emancipated from poverty. The Social Liberals tend to strongly favour cooperation with the LLL. Relations with the Social Democrats are increasingly acromonious, which sometimes threatens party unity. The Greens A group that is itself heterogenous and crosses across the other factions. The Greens subscribe to the four principles of the Green movement, Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy, Nonviolence and Ecological wisdom. Different Greens however interpret those four principles in different ways meaning that various Greens subscribe to ideologies ranging from ecosocialism all the way along the spectrum to ecological variants of libertarianism, something which affects their capability to operate as a cohesive faction. As a group however they generally support stringent environmental protection and decentralisation as well as an internationalist foreign policy. Economics policy is the greatest division between Greens, with some Greens even adopting centre-right economics policies. Relations with the other factions are generally excellent, and the Greens often find sympathy from all sides, allowing, for example, the Greens to get the International Greens party organisation declared the PPP's primary allegiance. The Centrists A small, unpopular, but surprisingly successful group. Centrists are nonideological in nature and argue the value of looking at each policy on individual merit and on reaching consensuses between factions and with other parties. The centrists are willing to work with any and all groups to reach their policy aims. Some Social Democrats and Greens accuse them of being too right wing for the PPP, though relations with the Social Liberals are good due to both orientating their politics around broaching consensuses. First and foremost interested in attaining power, and with forging the PPP as a natural home for moderates of all shapes and sizes who might be otherwise displeased with Valruzia's ideological spectrum. The Christian Left The Smallest faction, the Christian Left tends to combine support for much of PPP policy with support for family and children, some demonstrate vaguely socially conservative policies, but aside from a few, marginal, Social Democrats the Christian Left finds it difficult to get such policy aims passed the rest of the party. Recently, with the implosion of the CFP, VCP and PP a few socialists, classical liberals and Christian Democrats have entered the party as well though few have gained any prominence or influence.